University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative
Exchange
University of Tennessee Honors Thesis Projects
University of Tennessee Honors Program
8-1998
American Influences in the Spanish Culture? An
Answer to this Question Utilizing the Results of a
Spanish Survey Titled: Thought Analysis of the
Spanish Population and the Influence of the
American Culture in the Spanish Culture
John Dee Dockery
University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Follow this and additional works at: http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj
Recommended Citation
Dockery, John Dee, "American Influences in the Spanish Culture? An Answer to this Question Utilizing the Results of a Spanish
Survey Titled: Thought Analysis of the Spanish Population and the Influence of the American Culture in the Spanish Culture" (1998).
University of Tennessee Honors Thesis Projects.
http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj/251
This is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Tennessee Honors Program at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It
has been accepted for inclusion in University of Tennessee Honors Thesis Projects by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and
Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected].
THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
KNOXVILLE
College of Arts & Sciences
Department of Romance & Asian Languages
601 McClung Tower
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996,0460
(423) 974,2311
FAX (423) 974,2313
August 14, 1998
Dr. Thomas Broadhead
F 101 Melrose Hall
CAMPUS
Dear Dr. Broadhead:
I am writing to follow up our telephone conversation
earlier today, in which I reported to you my approval of
the paper that Dee Dockery wrote for the Whittle Project.
Enclosed is a copy of the paper, which, I believe, you
will find to be both interesting and well-done.
Please let me know if there is anything further that
I can do.
Sincerely,
~?~
Professor
WHH
Dee Dockery
404-877 -0114
1139 Villa Dr. #5
Atlanta, GA 30306
American Influences
in the
Spanish Culture?
An Answer to this Question
Utilizing the Results
of a Spanish Survey Titled:
Thought Analysis
of the Spanish Population
and the Influence of the
American Culture in
the Spanish Culture
I. INTRODUCTION
As I was kissing my mother good-bye at the airport and catching my last glimpse
of the all-so familiar place that I call home on that early September morning, I could not
stop thinking about the country where my long journey would end. I had wanted to
complete this voyage since my sophomore year at Germantown High School, when I was
first formally exposed to this country and its culture during my education. Spain!
Through the Whittle Scholarship, as part of my undergraduate studies at the University
of Tennessee in Knoxville, I received the opportunity to study or work an academic year
abroad in whichever country that I chose. I decided the most plausible year during
college to study abroad would be my fourth and senior year, so I would be capable of
finishing my biology degree, applying to medical school and having a year away to enjoy
my free-time before I began medical school the following August. My fate with the city
of my Spanish expedition was destined long before I realized. One late afternoon
returning to the fraternity house from a Spanish class, I crossed paths with an old high
school friend, Rob Williams, who had just ended his travel abroad adventure through
Europe. While we were catching up, I told him of my plans to live in Spain for two
semesters. Excited and eager to share his feelings about his tour through Spain, the first
expression he passionately delivered was "You've got to go to Seville." He then explained
his reasoning about how beautiful the city, the culture and especially the people were.
From this point forward, I knew where I wanted to pass the majority of my time in school
and free-time in the streets of Europe. My plane would fly from my always endearing
home to a nation of an unaccustomed lifestyle in Seville, Spain, where I would live from
the beginning of September until the conclusion of May while learning the Spanish
language and the Andalucian customs.
-/-
Before I left in September, I determined to involve my year abroad with my
Whittle project, concerning the personal emotions of Spaniards and their feelings about
the influence of the United States in their country. But, in my mind, the only personal
ideas about the culture of Seville were those my previous education had deemed
traditionally Spanish and necessary to learn in Spanish studies. I was totally unaware of
what to expect throughout the streets during a normal day except for the typical cultural
attractions such as religious holidays, daily naps and bull-fighting. Although I was
oblivious to the presence of routine American influence in the Spanish lifestyle, I
believed that the sight there of any American products from something like McDonalds to
Levi's would be scarce if noticed at all. But, immediately after I arrived in the Madrid
airport, I observed advertisements and actual products of our American culture
intertwined in the characteristics of the Spanish day through entertainment, music, diet
and sports, especially those concerning the youth. At this moment, I was certain that a
free-response answer, well-detailed and humorously entertaining survey about their
overall opinions on common American products could be accomplished for my project.
As part of the project, I am currently writing this paper to introduce my topic, explain the
survey and its purpose, detail the results, and attempt to discover the Spanish consensus
about the subject and possible trends from my test sample. I determined a theme of this
nature would create more interest for my readers as well as myself. Now, I had to create,
, distribute, and collect a survey that is informational, enjoyable and readable for my
answer pool as well as myself.
II. EXPERIMENT
Since I was studying in Spain for two academic semesters, I planned to experience
the unfamiliar environment for a semester without drafting anything about the survey in
3
order'to acquaint myself with the culture, meet native Spaniards and talk casually with
others about possible features for the future project. Unperceived before I arrived,
Spaniards are generally offended if approached by a foreign stranger and asked to
complete a survey concerning the state of their culture in regards to outside influences,
particularly those of the United States. Therefore, the first semester gave me the
opportunity to become friends with some locals who could assist me in finding a response
group. During the first portion of my second semester, I finalized a preliminary outline of
the specific topics that I wanted to cover: entertainment, music, food, sports, politics and
fashion.
For the survey answer pool, I produced a title page with a personal message to the
responders in order to introduce and describe to them my purpose and reasoning for my
project. In this, I described a bit of my experience there and how thankful I am to have
the ability to reside in their wonderful country.
To begin the question format of the test, I asked the individual for personal
>
characteristics in order to establish group comparisons from the answers. I separated the
response by gender, age group and highest level of education attained. For the age
classification, I split the individuals into three categories: 16-35, 36-55 and over 55. I
divided the educational information into three groups also: completed high school or
some technical training institute, studying or had studied at a university, or graduated
from a university.
In the second portion of the survey, I asked some general questions about the
feelings and sources of information of the individual about the United States, and if he or
she is familiar with American products. The general questions are: 1. What do you think
about the U.S.? 2. Have you visited or lived in the U.S.? 3. From where have you
received your ideas of the U.S.? 4. Rank the influence of the U.S. in Spain from 1 to 4,
with 4 representing excellent. 5. Individually, do you use American things for
something? 6. Does your family use American things for some purpose? 7. Do you think
that the introduction of American things has influenced the nonnal way of life of the
people or not?
In order to display the knowledge about the United States of the surveyed, I
designed 4 multiple choice questions on various American subjects. The overall structure
of each question followed a "Of these things, which is not American?", and observing the
responders' familiarity with American creations that would likely be obvious to the
common American could be accomplished. The 4 questions are: 1. Of these musical
groups, which is not American? possible answers: The Doors, U2, Madonna or The
Eagles 2. Of these namebrands of clothes, which is not American? possible answers:
Nike, Ralph Lauren, Lacoste or Levi's 3. Of these politicians, which is not American?
possible answers: John Major, AI Gore, Dan Quayle or Newt Gingrich 4. 0 these foods,
which does Burger King not offer? possible answers: Hamburgers, Chicken,
Ham&Cheese or Pizza.
For the next section of the survey, I devoted it entirely to the American
entertainment present in Spain. During my first week in Madrid, I detected American
television programs displayed such as Family Matters, Hangin' With Mr. Cooper and The
X-Files and various American movies on television and at the theatre. And, after chatting
with different Spanish friends, the famous actors and actresses and the events in their
lives emerged as an important issue as well. Therefore, I made the following questions to
highlight these subjects. 1. What television programs do you nonnally watch? 2. Order
the next television programs according to your preference: Impact TV, ER, The Happy
Face, Baywatch, More Sports and The X-Files. 3. What type of movies do you prefer? 4.
Who is your favorite actor and actress? 5. Do you think that the American programs and
movies represent the type of culture that there is in the United States? Please, explain. 6.
What do you think about the youth with respect to American entertainment and to the
future generations? 7. Do you think that American entertainment has influenced
negatively or positively in the nonnal way of life?
Every week during my Spanish excursion, I worked out 4 to 5 times a week and
absorbed the Spanish nightlife at least 4 evenings of the week. Consequently, I constantly
observed the types of music played at the gym and the bars and dance clubs. This part of
the survey aims to find anything peculiar in the tastes and sentiments of the surveyed
about American music. The five questions are: 1. Order these types of music in order of
preference: Classical, Rock & Roll, Flamenco, Celtic, Techno, Country, Blues and Jazz.
2. What are your three favorite music groups or singers? 3. What do you think of the
music videos on the television? 4. What do you think about the appreciation of Spanish
music by the youth since the introduction of American 'Pop' Music? 5. Do you think that
American music has affected or not the social life of the Spanish culture at something like
the clubs and bars?
Intrigued since the beginning of my journey in Spain by the availability of the
restaurant McDonalds and the number of children that consistently populated it, I intend
to evaluate the liking of typical American foods and restaurants by my Spanish sample
and discern any possible trends in the responses. The questions, both general and specific
about certain issues, are as follows: 1. Do you go alone or with your family to American
restaurants? If yes, Where do you go? 2. Individually, do you like the typical American
foods of American restaurants like McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Subway, 1. Henry Beams,
etc.? If yes, what foods? 3. What do you think of Coca-Cola? If you like it, do you drink
it with something or by itself? 4. What do you think of the preferences of foods by the
Spanish youth since the introduction of American food and restaurants?
Unlike the quick detection of American entertainment in Spain, noticing the
presence of American athletes and athletics was a more delayed process. But, when I
started to read the sports section of the different newspapers and view the sports on
television, I soon recognized sections of the newspaper and programs on the television
dedicated to undeniable American sports such as the National Football League and
especially the National Basketball Association. I concentrate the topic of this part of the
suryey around sports to attempt to uncover the favorite sports and athletes of my
population sample and their feelings toward those that are American. The 4 questions
presented to the surveyed are: 1. Order these sports according to your preference:
Soccer, Volleyball, Tennis, Basketball, Handball, Car and Motorcycle Racing, Rugby,
American Football and Golf. 2. Who is your favorite athlete? In what sport and why? 3.
What do you think of the Spanish form of dress since the introduction of brandnames of
American sports and athletes? 4. Do you think that the Spanish preferences of sports
have not or have changed a little with the introduction of American sports and athletes?
Throughout the fIrst semester while I was living with a host family, I listened to
my host brother and his girlfriend often discuss politics several times with the issue often
dealing with the United States. Actually, I once defended the American holiday of
Thanksgiving by debating its purpose for the people and the government with my host
brother's girlfriend who believed that Americans gave thanks on this day to Coca-Cola,
McDonalds and Nike. Hence, I undoubtedly prepared a political segment of the survey to
note the average Spanish opinions about the Spanish and American National
Governments and their politicians. The questions relevant to the subject are: 1. What do
you think of the Spanish National Government and its politicians? 2. What do you think
of the National Government of the United States and its politicians? 3. What do you
think that the normal American thinks about the Spanish Government and the American
Government? 4. Do you think that some actions of the American Government have
.
affected the Spanish Government and the thought of the Spanish citizens about the
politicians?
Because the diverse styles of fashion in Spain fascinated me, like the women's
tight pants and the youth's leather boots, the fInal American topic included in my survey
represents the thoughts and preferences of fashion for my population sample. Various
brand-names of American clothing reside in the Spanish lifestyle and remain popular to a
major contingent of the consumer population. Acquainted with some individuals who
refused to wear American clothing articles, I ,therefore, resolved to include some
questions about fashion. They are: 1. Do you think there are differences in the fonn of
dress between Spain and the United States? 2. Do you have preferences for brand-names
of clothes? 3. What do you think of the famous stars in Hollywood and their style of
dressing and way of life?
Finally, for a well-rounded, summarizing question on the current state of the
traditional Spanish culture, I terminated the survey by asking" What Do you think about
the future of the Spanish culture?". Utilizing this theme with these topics and questions, I
intend to reveal the general Spanish consensus about the reality of American products and
culture creating a personal "niche" in the Spanish community"
llI. RESULTS
Six distinct collections of responders characterize the population sample. These
include friends that I ~ade at my gym, 4 different groups of friends of 4 of my Spanish
friends and some of my neighbors.
After collecting the completed surveys, I refrained from reading the responses
until I had the capability to review the answers with sufficient free-time in order to
maintain a clear mentality while outlining the judgments of the surveyed. When this
period arrived, I commenced my personal analysis of the results by examining each
question in the survey individually.
For the basic characteristics of my sample pool, 55 individuals participated in the
survey, fortunately with 27 men and 28 women. The results from the age group
separation conflicted with my original goal to have a broad range of contestants divided
into three age categories. But, of the 55 responders, 51 of them marked the 16-35 year
old class, while the 4 others belong to the 36-55 year old group. Although, at first, this
minor problem troubled me, I eventually realized that the emphasis of this project is
directed towards he Spanish youth. Therefore, the answers from the youthful sample will
further demonstrate and support my explanations for issues concerning the youth. Of the
4 individuals between 36-55, 3 are women.
For educational purposes, 22 of the
individuals had graduated from high school or technical training institute, 24 had studied
or was currently studying at a university, and 9 of the participants had graduated from a
university.
For the general questions section about the United States, I attempt to evaluate the
responses with both a mathematical and a philosophical approach in order to grasp
general and personal opinions from the citizens. For the first question, "What do you
think about the United States?", the results show an overall neutral stance. But, some
contestants responded in positive and negative ways also. Of the 55 responses, the
majority, 29 takes a neutral position to the question, while 10 have a positive response
and 16 have a negative one. For this question, the contestants described their opinions
about the U.S. openly. "I do not know much of the U.S .. .it seems to me a country of large
contradictions.", "Economic and military power of the world", and "... a country in which
all seems possible .. .its citizens believe themselves the center of the world and do not
worry themselves (in general) to meet other cultures." are examples of thoughts from the
neutral focus. To understand some of the negative sentiments, "A country... that believes
itself to be the only one that exists on the planet.", "(U.S.) acts hypocritically against the
problems of the world. It acts like a world leader in what interests them ... ", "(U.S.)
practices oppressive exterior politics over the weaker ones, and its culture encourages
social inequalities", and "superiority complex" represent this particular feeling. But,
some of the contestants think highly of America as well through "a country full of
attractions tI, "more modem and advanced than Spain", "Many countries want to copy their
1
(u.s.) forms of living ... (U.S.) is very spectacular in all that they organize", and "a place
very interesting to live".
Of the 55 Spanish individuals that answered the survey, 5 of them or 9% of the
answer pool had at least visited the United States, and 2 of them had actually lived there.
In order to determine what type of information about the United States my
population sample receives, I asked them for their primary sources of data of the
American lifestyle and occurrences. They supplied what I categorized 8 separate
informational entities: television, American friends, magazines and books, movies,
experience, radio, newspaper, and personal studies. Of these sources, most of the
individuals, 36, obtain their knowledge about the U.S. from television, while the next 2
most popular sources are American friends, 19, and magazines and books, 14.
For the purpose of gathering a general opinion from the surveyed of the overall
value of American influence, a numerical scale from 1 to 4 with 4 representing excellent
was applied (scales of this sort from 1 to 4 are more common in Spain than those of 1 to
10). Of the 55 surveyed, 52 individuals answered this question. 6 valued the influence at
1, 18 at 2,21 at 3, 2 at 4, and 5 at 2.5. The average evaluation among the responses is
2.41, which shows the sentiment for the American influence is nonnally between fair to
good. The increase in positive feelings on this question while simultaneously moving
from the more educated to the less educated group is interesting. The average rank of the
college diploma group is 2.29 with only 140/0 of the,se individuals noting a mark of 3 or
higher. This average increases somewhat in the current university student class to 2.35,
while 38% of their group indicated 3 or higher. And, the high school graduates granted a
2.52 average to the American influence with 62% of them at 3 or more.
Asking whether the individual surveyed or his or her family employed anything
American for whatever purpose helps delineate the actual number of the contestants that
know they are in contact with an American product on a regular basis. Only 4 of the
10
surveyed express that they personally do not utilize these items, and 6 of the families do
not either.
For the final question of this segment concerning the possible influence on the
people's normal way of life since the introduction of American products, overwhelmingly,
the responses admit a certain American intluence in the way of life. Of the 55 polled, 45
of them agree that there are influences, 6 believe the influence is absent, and 4 are
uncertain. Many of the individuals that see the influence" in the way of acting, living
and thinking", "although we(Spain) do not realize it", point out such areas as in "fast
food". But, a few in compliance with the American presence do not concur with the
other's pleasure with it because "now, life is abnormal".
The results of the multiple choice questions are as follows: 1. the non-American
musical-group: answer is U2. Of the 55 who answered, 8 contested incorrectly. This was
probably the easiest question before the evaluation. 2. the non-American clothing brand:
answer is Lacoste. Of the 55 who answered, 9 were wrong. Known in Spain as much as
the first. 3. the non-American politician: answer is John Major. Here is the first
example of a question that requires some previous specific information, different than the
previous two that often are learned passively. The survey responses exhibit this fact as 13
of the 55 people responded incorrectly, including the first college graduate to miss a
question. 4. not offered at Burger King: answer is Pizza. 23 answered incorrectly. The
first
que~tion
that asked for a specific product of an American company perplexed the
pool. In Spain, Burger King offers hamburgers, chicken and, unlike here in the U.S., a
ham&cheese sandwich, which possessed most of the incorrect responses.
To better the answers of the entertainment section, the questions were
well-balanced between free-response, ranking, and short explanation types. The first
question asked the population sample what type of programs they watch. The answers
varied, but the most popular answers are, movies, sitcoms, sports, the news and
II
documentaries. The most mentioned individual television programs are the American
programs the Simpsons, Bay Watch, Family Matters, and Friends.
For the second question I had the contestants rank a group of television programs,
3 of them Spanish and 3 of them American, in the order of their preference with 1 being
the best and 6 the worst. For the surveys that only ranked 4 or less, I subtracted one point
from the highest ranked's total points in determining an average score. The averages for
the programs distributed between 4.302 for the worst to 2.767 for the best. In order from
worst to best with corresponding averages, they rank as follows: 6. Baywatch (Am) at
4.302 5. The Happy Face (Sp) at 40279 4. Impact TV (Sp) at 3.256 3. ER (Am) at
3.116 2. More Sports (Sp) at 3.047 and 1. The X-Files (Am) at 2.767. From these
results, the first and third most popular programs in this group are American. The second
most popular program, More Sports, is the Spanish equivalent to Sports Center in
America, but is shown only during the middle of the day. And interestingly, the most
watched program in the world, Baywatch, finishes last in the selection.
The third question in this portion requests the personal movie type preferences for
the individual. The answers covered an extensive range of movie types, from action to
dramas and science fiction to comedies. Also, 3 of the surveyed specified that they only
watch American movies, as 1 more did for Spanish movies.
In order to understand the types of movies and acting that this group enjoys, I
questioned them for their favorite actor and actress. Of the 29 different actors nominated,
5 of them are Spanish. And, the most popular actor with 7 votes is Robert de Niro,
followed by Brad Pitt, then a tie between Dustin Hoffman and Spaniard Paco Rabal. For
the actresses, 5 of the 23 actresses named are Spanish. There is a tie for the favorite
actress between Julia Roberts and Michelle Pheiffer, each with 6 votes. Behind them, by
herself, is the Spanish Mrs. Sanchez-Gijon with 4 votes. 11 of the surveyed did not
identify a favorite actor, as 10 did not identify a favorite actress.
/z",
The content of the next question I planned to ask in this survey since I first
detected the presence of American movies and television. Believing that the major mode
of instruction about everyday life in the United States was television and the cinema, I
was inquisitive whether the actual settings, occurrences, and dialogue in the movies were
what the surveyed perceived to be normal in the U.S. Of the 55 contestants, 19 answered
that they do believe the situations realistic in America, while 18 deny the reality, 6 are
uncertain, 7 believe both movies do and do not accurately depict daily American life, and
5 omitted the question. Interestingly, the percentage of the different education groups'
votes for believing the movies' reality increased simultaneously with the lessening of
highest level of education attained. Meaning, only 22% of the individuals who graduated
from a university believed in the reality of these movie circumstances, while the
percentage increases to 40% for those only studying or studied at a university and up to
43% for those with high school diplomas only. Also, the answer category with the most
votes is the people who do believe the image Hollywood portrays in its movies is
credible. The individuals who do believe in Hollywood America support their opinion by
saying "yes, for example the television series where each member of a family has his own
room, telephone, computer, etc ... " or more negatively that there (U .S.) "exists much
violence, above all, between people of distinct races ... ". Others who give credit to the
Hollywood version of America mention that "the only medium that I hav~ day to day to
meet the American lifestyle is what it (television and movies) transmits to me. ". But,
those who refute this Hollywood daily existence offer reasoning as well with "No type of
television represents a society." and "They offer us a topic and not the reality." and then
remark that" neither do the Spanish movies represent the totality of the Hispanic
culture. ". Some responders disagree with the reality by discussing the absurdities of
American television as in "the people are fatter than what they show on the television.".
Some allege that if the Hollywood America is true that "they (America) make much
silliness or stupid things".
Unfortunately, numerous contestants misunderstood the last question about the
influence of American entertainment on the Spanish youth and omitted it or thought I was
examining the American youth here. But, several individuals comprehended the intent
tl
and responded with "they (Span. youth) see too much violence and that now "the youth
has an appetite to live ... they worry much about their pleasures ... in my time, it was not
like that" because "before, the youth were entertaining themselves at dances, at the
movie ... ". Numerous individuals express their concern about the Spanish youth and their
future generations because "the youth is very influenced by all American products/objects
and experience, to my negative judgment" and "the Spanish youth believe that all that is
American is better than Spanish" and "due to that, we (Spain) are going losing little by
little our culture and I think that each time the future generations are going to identify
themselves more with the United States and their customs."
For my final question, I wanted to ascertain what kind of influence, positive or
negative, if one is present, American entertainment bestowed upon the normal manner of
living in Spain. Of the 55 people, 12 of them say that the influence is positive, 13 of
them declare the influence negative, 8 do not label the influence either way, 11 call it both
positive and negative, and 11 omitted the question. These results demonstrate the variety
of opinions on the subject and the lack of a general consensus. The responders for both
parties of the issue defend their answers with examples. For the positive side, they
explain the positive effects in sports, more o~erall variety in entertainment, and educating
the citizens "to be more liberal and independent". They feel the influences are positive
because "we (Spain) collect the really fun things from the Americans" at the same time
that "one individual (Spaniard) always remembers where he is from". But, the sentiments
for the negative influence possess equal intensity because "they (America) want to make
us believe that they are perfect and Americanize us", and "they (Spain) are losing typical
entertainments of here like Sevillano dancing and singing".
/4
In the next section of the survey, I focused the attention on the musical industry in
order to detennine the preferences of music and opinions about the American influence
on Spanish music tastes. The first question is an ordering request of 8 different types of
music: classical, rock & roll, flamenco, celtic, techno, country, blues, and jazz. The final
order of preference was detennined by a simple averaging technique, where each music
class received· the corresponding numh9r it was ranked. These were added and divided by
(."~".r.
the num~ of the surveyed who answered. For those that answered only 4 or more, those
ranked received the appropriate ord:er number, and the rest received an 8. For those with
'"
only 1 to 3 ranked, only the top ranked one received a one point subtraction from the total
~
,
,.
,tt ~
'
'~
,.
Ii
number of points~ before diving it by the number who answered. These people were not,
¥
~
in~lrt~hiithe ~otal number ofcontestants used in the averaging process for the division
<,
tf,,/~;~:;~~~~,l,:"'«,
.\:
.-
-,
r;
, . ' . >
'
f'.~::,~ ~
v
"~'i
'
'i'itr.~:\~er ft&uring the individual averages. ~ most appealing'fuhslc to the population
saIllple from least to most appealing with its related average is: 8. Country at 6.06 7.
~;fJazz at 5.78 6. Techno at 5.02 5. Celtic at 4.58 4. Classical at 4.48 3. Blues at 4.34
2. Rock & Roll at 3.14 and 1. Flamenco at 2.64. These results display the everlasting
strong-hold that flamenco, the traditional music of Seville, maintains in the region. The
fact that the majority ?f this population sample are part of the younger generation
strengthens this fact, because rock & roll, normally associated with any youthful
generation effected by American Music, finished second. And, interestingly, the blues,
definitely categorized American, placed third on the list.
For the second question of the musical segment, I asked the surveyed to list their
three favorite musical groups andlor singers. After counting the nominations, the group
that the individuals named the most is U2, an originally Irish group that record in the
United States. After U2, Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz placed second, and there is a tie
for third between Spanish singer Ricky Martin, Spanish group Ultimo de la Fila, and the
American group Metallica. Combing this information with the numerous groups and
1'5'
singers nominated and the facts from the fmt question, I believe that music tastes remain
a personal issue that are discovered by experience.
The majority of the 55 contestants enjoy the originally American music industry
phenomenon called the music video. Of the 55, 33 individuals support listening to music
by watching the television, while 7 others feel oppositely, 7 are neutral, 4 see positive and
negative sIdes, and 4 others omitted the question. Those that like the video clips support
their reasoning by graphically stating that music videos are "the bomb", " a form to meet
the groups, styles, singers, etc." and "more entertaining to see the singer". Although this
individual enjoys the music videos "because they are very artistic", comprehension of the
songs' purposes is still difficult because "the majority are in English". Although heavily
outnuml;leTed in the results, those who do not advocate music videos utilize solid
ariumentS 'as well by discussing "the bad taste and the sex" in the music videos and
noting that "music is to listen to and not to see".
The following question asked the individuals how they thought the appreciation of
Spanish music by the Spanish youth has differed since the introduction of American
music. The answers to this question, in which a huge majority thinks the appreciation has
remained the same or increased, together with the results of the first question of this
survey portion, in which flamenco was voted the most popular form of music, reveal the
importance and respect that Spanish traditional music maintains in groups of all ages.
The majority explains their view by showing that "the Spanish music always has had
much strength between the youth and always will occupy a privileged place between the
pleasures of the people". Although a small minority, some individuals think that "the
people do not appreciate or value the Spanish singers" and "the majority of the youth in
Spain listens to much more American 'pop' music, in the discotechs almost all the music
is American".
The last question of the music division asks whether or not the individual thinks
American music has affected the Spanish social life. After spending .the majority of my
nights in Spain at bars and dance-clubs listening to various music types, I concluded that
a question about the subject of nightlife and music was necessary. Of the 55 responses,
an enonnous majority of the individuals, 41, expressed a noticeable change in the Spanish
nightlife, 9 denied it, 3 are not certain, and 2 omitted the question. Some of the
individuals who sense the change mention that "in the majority of the sites (bars and
clubs), they put on American music" and also "on the radio advertisements". Others who
agree with the discernible change also indicate that "all types of music have great importance (in the social scene) ... Spanish, American, Latino, British". Of the individuals
who refute the alteration, some highlight the individuality of the Spanish social scene and
defend their position by exclamating that "the Spanish are very Spanish".
In the following survey section, I center the attention of the survey around the
contestants t opinions on typical American food and restaurants. Because cooking and
eating are 2 of my favorite hobbies, and the presence of American alimentation in Spain
is unavoidable, an infonnative survey of this nature requires this topic.
For the first 2 questions concerning American food in Spain, I first asked each
responder if he or she goes to American restaurants. Then, if so, with whom, to where,
and for what. Of the ~5 individuals surveyed, 29 indicated that they do eat at American
restaurants, 24 do not attend these restaurants for meals, and 2 omitted the question.
Most of the individuals that eat at these restaurants nonnally do so more with their friends
than with their family. McDonalds is the restaurant most frequently mentioned as a
specific location, followed by Burger King and then Pizza Hut.
The third question of the survey was imperative to this part of the survey: what
do the Spanish individuals think about the American icon of soft-drinks, Coca-Cola.?
After completing the math of the results, a sizable percentage, 83% of 54 who answered,
enjoys the flavor that Coca-Cola offers. Only 9 of the 54 contestants do not drink the
famous soft-drink. Of the possible ways to drink Coca-Cola mentioned by the
contestants, drinking it alone is the most preferred with 23 votes and drinking it with
It
whiskey or rum, popular at the bars and clubs at night, is the second most preferred with
15 votes. Those that like Coca-Cola describe it as "the best American invention", "the
best drink in the world", "the perfect drink when I am tired" and by the its famous slogan
"Always Coca-Coal". Other individuals describe their pleasure of the soft-drink by
illustrating that "I am an addict to Coca-Cola and believe it is the best thing that the'
Americans have brought to Spain" and "Before it was indifferent to me. Now I love it. .. ".
The people who do not have a liking to Coca-Cola express that it "removes the sleep from
me" and "I am sorry; I must be the only person that does not like Coca-Cola at all. Each
time that I say it, the people look at me with a strange face.
II
With the fourth and final question of this part, I asked the survey population what
they think of the food preferences of the youth since the introduction of American food
and restaurants and attempted to determine the general consensus of the subject. But,
because the majority of the surveyed responded by somehow comparing the youth's
preference between American and Spanish foods, I obtained the opportunity to guide the
analysis in this direction. Of the 55 responders, 18 commented that the Spanish youth
like American food more than Spanish, 12 wrote the contrary, 21 did not answer this
directly,3 were not sure, and 1 omitted the question. When reviewing the results of this
question, I think that the individuals were thinking more about the children of adolescent
ages and younger and not the young adults as much. One individual points out that there
has to be a "division between urban and rural youth" in the analysis because the urban
kids have easier and more frequent access to American restaurants. Those who express a
larger taste for American food by Spanish youth call it a "shame" that American food
"triumphs" and view the issue as "awful". They say that "there is more liking for the fast
food" and that "the youth (12-18) prefer a hamburger to a 'serrantito' (type of Spanish
ham, serrano)", that "they (Spanish youth) are going to American places each time that
they have the opportunity; but, they all also recognize that it is not healthy food" and
"they have bad taste and do not appreciate the good healthy ... Spanish. food". But, those
that disagree with the previous group explain that "the youth always has liked the Spanish
food. For a change and convenience, one can ask for food like pizzas, hamburgers, etc."
Others express that "the Spanish youth go to McDonalds, but continue preferring la tapa
(Spanish appetizers)" and that American food is "garbage".
Because I have concentrated most of my free-time in life on sports, I focus the
attention of this next section around athletics and the athletes that my survey population
enjoy watching. After spending some time in Spain, I started to notice a certain fan
following for certain American sports, particularly for basketball. Therefore, these
questions attempt to assess the importance of American sports and athletes in comparison
to Spanish ones. The first question asks the individuals to rank these 9 different sports in
order of their preference: soccer, volleyball, tennis, basketball, handball, car and
motorcycle racing, rugby, American football, and golf. After compiling the answers by
the same manner as the musical section, the favorite sports ordered from least to best with
their corresponding averages as follows: 9. Golf at 7.38 8. American football at 7.19 7.
Rugby at 6.31 6. CarlMoto Racing at 5.33 5. Handball at 5.10 4. Volleyball at 4.06 3.
Tennis at 3.60 2. Basketball at 3.60 and 1. Soccer at 2.58. From this data, not
surprisingly, the favorite sport of the 51 who answered this question is Europe's
traditional soccer that numerous individuals adore in Spain. But, after soccer, basketball,
which is still recent there, is the most preferred sport of our population survey. Of the 51
individuals that ordered the sports, basketball received 31 votes to place it between 1 and
3. Although basketball has developed into a fan favorite, soccer, with 24 votes for 1st
place, still triumphs in the hearts of Spaniards.
The second question simply asks for the individual's favorite athlete in order to
see what athletes the population sample respects. Interestingly, Michael Jordan is the
athlete who received the most votes, which further displays Spain's new-found admiration
of basketball. He is followed by a tie between the Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo and
/~
SpC;Ulish tennis star Arancha Sanchez-Vicario. 29 different athletes received votes, of
which 13 play soccer.
Because I witnessed Nike products practically everywhere in Spain from little
boys' T-shirts to the game balls of the 1st division Spanish professional soccer league, the
next question asks if these American brand-name sports apparel companies have made an
impact on Spanish fashion. Of the 55 contestants, 28 of them concur that these clothing
companies have affected Spanish fashion, 3 do not see a change, 21 did not answer the
question in this manner, and 3 omitted the question. The individuals that witness an
American influence declare that "almost all the youth use American clothes" because they
"dress more comfortable and relaxed". But, an individual that does notice the fashion
change also points out that while "sports clothing has influenced the youth, ... street
clothes are different. tt Individuals that do not favor the American sports fashion explain
that "it is not my style" and ItAmericans are not elegant; Americans wear white socks with
black high heels
lt
•
The concluding question
~f this
sports segment asks if the overall Spanish
preference of sports has or has not changed a little since the introduction of American
sports. Of the 52 people that responded, the majority of them, 36 individuals, claim that
the preferences have altered since then, 14 do not detect a deviation, 2 are uncertain, and
3 omitted the question. Of the 14 individuals that refute the influence, 9 of them clarified
.
their opinion by expressing something about the power of soccer in Spain like Itthe king
sport (in Spain) has always been soccer".
For the next group of questions, I ask the individuals how they feel about their
Spanish National Government and its politicians, the United States Government and its
politicians, and the interactions between the two in a free-response format in order to
obtain diverse opinions. The first question asks the population sample for their
sentiments about the Spanish National Government and its politicians. I divided their
answers into 4 separate categories in which 17 people hold positive thoughts about it, 16
possess negative feelings, 13 abstained from the question because they do not like or care
about politics, 5 are neutral, and 4 omitted the question. Of the responses that mention
the Spanish politicians, only 2 people think highly of them, and 9 believe the contrary.
The people that believe their government is functioning well remark that "the
Government is working with honesty" and the "economy and ... image at the international
level has bettered in the last years
tt
•
But, those that do not favor the Spanish Government
explain that "it is a load of crap and not worth five pesetas" or is "a Government of
archaic rights". Those who dislike the politicians often claim that "the politicians always
try to arrive to the power and obtain money", while one individual states that the Spanish
politicians "could be able to make a good car-salesman".
The next question asks the same question about the United States Government.
Only 5 individuals answered with positive ideas about the U.S. Government, while 19
resent it, 17 abstained from answering the question, 9 are neutral, and 5 omitted the
question. The people that dislike the government characterize it as "liars", "hypocritical",
and "the government of Hillary Clinton". Also they mention that "the (American) people
give more importance to the routine life of the politicians than their ideology", the
government "must support the third world (countries) much more", and the government
"believes that it can impart its justice on all the world according to its convenience".
Even though the majority thinks differently, one individual that likes the American
Government labels it "very organized".
The third question in this segment asks what he or she believes the average
American thinks about the Spanish Government and the American Government. For the
first part, only 4 people speculate that an American regards the Spanish Government
highly, 12 imagine the opposite, 17 are uncertain, 14 believe Americans do not think at
all about the Spanish Government, and 8 omitted the question. For the second part of the
question, which 23 individuals omitted, 15 reckon that Americans like their government,
16 are not sure, and only I does not think Americans favor it. The individuals that feel
2/
the. average American thinks poorly about the Spanish Government assert that Americans
"see us as backwards", "do not have any idea of what happens here in Spain", and think
"Spain is in Africa". For the overwhelming majority that speculate Americans support
their government, they point out that Americans "believe that. .. their government is
better" and "agree with Bill Clinton although he has lost popUlarity by the Monica
Lewinsky case".
The final political question for the survey aims to determine whether the
contestants think that certain actions of the American Government have affected the
Spanish Government and Spanish political thought. Of the 55 individuals, 29 cite that it
has affected these subjects, 7 do not detect any effects, 9 are uncertain, and 10 omitted the
question. Some of the people that notice the different effects utilize examples such as
Itthe Spanish Government and the rest try to be equal to the American", "the U.S. make
the orders in NATO, and what the U.S. says is what the rest of the governments must do",
and "every country is scared of the United States". From most of the responses to the
questions of this section, it is easy to comprehend why the average Spaniard considers the
American Government the bully of the playground.
The final section of questions in the survey attempts to display the presence of
American clothing brand names and what most Spanish citizens consider about them.
The first question simply asks whether the individual can distinguish unique fashion
styles between the 2 countries. 43 contestants of the 52 who answered ~xpress a
discernible dissimilarity in fashion. And, of these same individuals, 10 continued to
mention that Spanish clothing styles are superior to those in the U.S. for a multitude of
reasons. The people that affirm a distinction between the fashions contribute reasoning
through "in the U.S., one dresses sportingly and informal. In Spain, we are more elegant"
and "There, one looks for comfort, here also, but mixed with beauty". But, those that do
not see a variation claim that "all the world dresses like in the U.S., with blue-jeans, a
T -shirt and sports shoes".
The second question attempts to delineate what brand-names of clothing are the
most popular in Spain. Of the 55 contestants, 29 replied that they do wear brand-name
apparel, 24 do not utilize them, and 2 omitted the question. The contestants named 22
distinct brand-names that they prefer, and the 2 favorite brand-names of the population
sample are American, Levi's and Nike, which conflicts with the results to the first
question.
The last question of the fashion segment focuses its attention on the famous stars
of Hollywood and their lifestyles and what the Spanish citizens think about the two.
Overall, the population sample answered the question by stating their indifference or
dislike of the personal lives of the stars. The individuals that express this sentiment label
the lifestyles as "fictitious", "superficial", and "too eccentric", Also they explain that the
Hollywood stars "waste their lives with the drugs and the alcohor' and "live like kings
while other people do not have hardly anything to eat", But, some of the individuals that
admire Hollywood and its illustrious characters describe it as tlrespectabletl and that
"some stars have much dressing taste" and "live very well, with much fame, money and
deserve it because they are good actors".
For the concluding question of the entire survey, I asked the individuals for their
personal forecast for the future of the Spanish culture in a free-response manner
attempting to acquire well-developed, deep responses about the subject. Of the 52
people who responded ~o this question, 42 of them remain extremely enthusiastic about
the future of Spain's culture, while only 3 have pessimistic outlooks, 3 are uncertain
about it, 4 mention that it still needs nurturing and care, and 3 omitted the question. The
people that are optimistic for the future illustrate that "Spain is a country where the
culture ... is very rich .. a very clear example is the flamenco", that "the essence (of the
Spanish culture) always remains", that "it (Spanish culture) continues growing and is one
of the most important and famous of the world" and "is going to prevail" and "better".
One individual specifically combines the American presence into the response by
detailing that "the influence of the U.S .... is going to disappear... we are going to return to
take our Spanish culture". Some of the individuals that do not know what the future
holds for Spain have their philosophies about the future in that it "will be a product of our
past and our future" and "will have to learn things from other cultures".
IV. CONCLUSION
After complete analysis of the survey results, I have concluded that different types
of American influences have independently altered the Spanish daily lifestyle to separate
degrees, but they absolutely have not changed the traditional essence that characterizes
Spanish culture.
In the entertainment industry of Spain, American films, television programs and
famous actors amuse several Spanish citizens, and some of those individually represent
the fan favorites in their respective divisions. From the answers to the survey, one notices
that, overall, the population sample prefers to watch the X-Files instead of 3 other
Spanish programs and also nominated Robert de Niro, Julia Roberts and Michelle
Pheiffer as their favorite actor and actresses respectively. Also, the majority of the
contestants detect a clear influence, positive and/or negative, from American
entertainment in the normal manner of Spanish living.
In the music field there, although flamenco still remains the choice music among
the audience, the American blues and certain American rock & roll bands and singers,
especially, have elevated in popUlarity since their introduction. Also, music videos such
as those on MTV have become astonishingly admired by Spain's younger generations.
As for the restaurant and food business, many Spaniards emotionally and
unmistakably declared their taste pleasures for different American hamburger and pizza
joints, most notably McDonalds, located in Spain. Also, as the results overwhelmingly
demonstrate, Coca-Cola has developed a massive, faithful consumer market since its
introduction in the country as one of the individuals calls it "the best drink in the world".
In the Spanish sports arena, since, the introduction of American sports, basketball
has rapidly surged to the upper tier of Spanish sports admirers, only trailing the national
pastime of soccer. Further exhibiting this viewpoint, the response population nominated
Michael Jordan more than any other athlete as their favorite sportsman, and the majority
t
indicated that Spaniards sports preferences have shifted during this brief period.
Finally, in the fashion realm of Spain, American brand-names Levi's and Nike
appear to exist as preferred clothing designers among the various contestants, even
though the consensus of those polled denoted a visible distinction between American and
Spanish individual fashion styles.
Noting the apparent American presence in Spain after reading the individual
responses in the survey, someone who has never visited or lived in Spain could
mistakably try to argue that American influences have transfigured the Spanish culture.
But, what that same individual forgets or does not understand is that every article
involved with the daily life of a country does not constitute nor create culture; these
entities generate the living conditions of a country's environment. Culture is defined by
two simple, but special components: a country's historically-based traditions and the
,citizens' passion for them to drive them forward into the future in order to secure their
existence and importance for future generations. Which is more important to America's
culture? Coca-Cola or the unique feeling that every American experiences on the 4th of
July when he/she gazes upon the star-filled sky exploding with fireworks and remembers
and appreciates all the American patriots that died to save and protect our freedom.
Unthinkably easy, right? Just as this question only requires a heart to answer and not a
brain, the same goes for a Spanish culture question between Antonio Banderas and the
legendary art of bull-fighting. Although this sur.vey does establish that American
influences have modified Spanish daily life, it does not and will never demonstrate the
Americanization of Spain's culture. Culture is every nation's soul, the combination of
everything traditional and extraordinary felt by the hearts of its citizens.